


Always Have and Always Will

by EnglishPoet18



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-08
Updated: 2015-01-08
Packaged: 2018-03-06 17:02:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3142031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnglishPoet18/pseuds/EnglishPoet18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caryl oneshot set just after the most recent episode where Daryl and Carol take off in the car that Daryl remembered taking Beth. Just a little prompt, nothing more. Thanks for reading and I own nothing from The Walking Dead. Rated M.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always Have and Always Will

...

He couldn't stop looking at her.

Before, back at the prison, he hadn't been able to keep his eyes off of her, but this time it was even worse somehow. Maybe it was because she looked different, more fit and firm in all the right places. Or maybe it was because he had missed her so badly all that time they had been separated when Rick's ass had kicked her to the curb and left her to fend for herself. Maybe it was the way she had smiled at him when he had first seen her again that day in the woods. Hell, it could even be those fucking boots she was always wearing.

Or maybe it was all of those things combined.

Either way, he still couldn't stop glancing at her every five fucking minutes as he drove the car down the long road. He felt like some kind of pervert, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted her. Even though they were trying like hell to catch up to the car that had taken Beth all he could think about was Carol.

And he felt guilty.

He supposed it was because deep down he felt like he had let everyone down by losing Beth. He had had one job and that had been to keep that girl safe, but he hadn't even done that. Maybe he was slipping, losing his edge in a world that didn't afford those kinds of slip ups. The world was unforgiving at the best of times and somewhere along the way he felt like he had lost that hard finality that kept him attuned to trouble. The weird thing was that though he felt like he had lost his edge, Carol had apparently gained hers.

God, she was fucking amazing.

He was having trouble concentrating on the task at hand. Deep down though, he knew in his heart that it was likely hopeless. It felt like Sophia all over again and even though it did he knew he wouldn't stop looking for Beth. That was just who Daryl was and he wasn't likely to ever change.

He glanced at Carol again and saw her staring out of the window, her fingers lightly plucking at the material of her khaki pants. "Hey," he called to her softly. She turned her head to glance at him and he alternated his gaze back and forth between her and the view ahead of him. "You alright?"

"I'm okay." She offered him a small smile, but he couldn't help but think that she was placating him.

He had so many things that he wanted to ask her, so much he needed to tell her, but he didn't really know where to start. He had never been one to carry on like some heartsick romantic, but this woman next to him made him want to do crazy things. The funniest part of it all was that Daryl would happily do anything that she asked of him just to keep her there with him for just one more day. Because that's how he lived now, how they all lived.

They survived day by day, no longer planning for the long term, but more worried about surviving to see just one more day, one more sunrise and sunset. Planning for anything else was useless because in an instant they could all be wiped out. They had all suffered their share of heartache, but they still found the will to keep going even if for just one more day.

Daryl slowly slowed the car down as the road became more crowded, abandoned vehicles littering the highway heavily. He noticed that Carol sat up a little straighter, her hands down low near her knife, ready to attack if need be. It gave him a silent thrill to see her taking care of herself so beautifully.

Just like he had known would happen the road soon became impassable and he slowed their car to a stop, parking it in such a way that it seemed to blend with all the other vehicles around it. He cut the engine and searched around them, knowing that the other car couldn't have gone far. He just couldn't figure out where in the hell it had gone because it wasn't the type of car that was easily hidden amongst others.

"This is some twilight zone shit," Daryl muttered as his keen eyes searched all around.

Carol hummed in agreement, her thin frame twisting in her seat as she helped search for tracks or a sign of some sort. Suddenly she reached out and seized his arm with one hand, tugging to get his attention. "There!" She pointed off to the side of the road where the trees were just far enough apart that they could barely make out a pathway. A pathway that was wide enough for a vehicle to pass through. A pathway that someone had taken great pains to hide.

Daryl reached for the keys, but Carol stopped him, "What are you doing?"

"What do ya mean? I'm goin' down there," he explained.

She shook her head. "Are you crazy? It's dark out and between us we only have one gun. We don't know what's down there and if we stroll down there in the dark we're likely to get ambushed."

He tilted his head to stare at her with one brow lifted in surprise. "Guess you got a point," he deemed. "We'll wait out here tonight then, keep our eyes peeled for activity, then come mornin' we're goin' in."

"I like that plan better," she replied with a small smile.

It was quiet then with the car off and nothing for either of them to focus on anymore. He drummed his fingertips lightly against the wheel of the car, not knowing what to say or do now. It felt awkward and Daryl didn't do awkward well.

"I suppose since we have the time we should probably talk, huh?" Carol asked in a low voice.

"About what?" Daryl asked even though he was pretty sure that he knew.

"Don't play coy Mr. Dixon," Carol turned in her seat so that she was facing him. "We need to talk about us...unless there's not an us anymore?"

He glanced up sharply. "Do you want there to be?" The question came spilling out before he could really think about it.

"Do you?" She countered.

Daryl sighed and leaned his head back against the headrest. "Christ, it's all I've thought about since the prison fell. I thought you were gone forever an' then Beth was there so I focused on that to keep from thinkin' about...you know." He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

She was back to picking at her khaki's again. "Did you and Beth...?" She let her question trail off and it hung suspended like a giant weight in the air between them.

Daryl recoiled as if he had been shot in the heart. "What? Hell no, wasn't like that! She's just a girl! It'd be like havin' feelin's for my sister and as redneck as I am that I ain't how I roll." Daryl shuddered just thinking about it. "Beth made me see that life wasn't over just 'cause we didn't know what happened to everyone. She kept me from doin' somethin' stupid, but I never-" He broke off and sucked in a harsh breath. "Christ, after everything we been through, you an' me? What we done together?"

Carol was out of her seat in an instant and climbing into his lap. He quickly adjusted the seat back so that they could both fit and she straddled him, curling her body into his chest. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to doubt you. I just want you to know that I wouldn't have blamed you if you had."

Daryl breathed out a sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around her, feeling like he had come home again. "I meant what I said that night and ain't nothin' gonna change that for me," he said.

She nodded against him and nuzzled her nose against his scruffy neck like she had done so many times before. She slid her hands under the warmth of his flannel shirt, the heat of his body warming her cold skin. He sucked in a breath at the cold temperature, but he would let her pull away. She looked up at him in the dark car and he felt the subtle shift in the air as desire coursed through his veins.

And he finally allowed himself to do what he had been wanting to do since he had seen her in the woods - he kissed her. Not just any kiss either. This one was long and deep, his tongue seeking out hers and stroking it with his own. She met him with equal fervor, sliding her hands up his bare skin further even as she pressed her body closer. When they finally separated Daryl dragged in several ragged breaths in an attempt to get his hormones under control again.

"Say it again," Carol whispered suddenly.

Daryl blinked and then just like that he knew. He let his hands trail over her back slowly, rubbing her through her t-shirt and then dropping his hands down to her ass, palming the globes that were just enough.

"I love you Carol," he said in a gravelly voice. "Always have an' always will."

She shivered and rocked her body against his own, her lips parting on a breath of desire. He didn't need her to tell him what she wanted. He had seen that look on her face many times back at the prison when they had begun slipping out into the night to make love. And it had always been like that, every time. With Carol, it had always been making love and never just fucking. Fucking was something that Merle had always done with any woman who even so much as blinked at him. Daryl had never been like that...had never felt like this about another human being before, _ever_.

Slowly her hips began to rock against him and Daryl groaned softly at the feel of her sliding along his hard erection. He hadn't been hard since the day he had found out she was gone so he was glad to see that everything still worked properly.

She slid his shirt up from around his abs, baring his pectoral muscles to which she immediately placed her warm mouth over his pebbled nipples, biting down on them just enough that he moaned. She smiled and licked his salty skin, moving up to his neck and then to his ear where she sucked the lobe between her teeth, nipping it sharply.

Daryl pulled her tighter against him and arched his hips upwards, rubbing his erection between her legs. She whimpered and slid back, working his button and zipper open. She wasted no time at all in freeing him and she shifted back to her seat. Before he could protest, she leaned over and took him in her mouth. He hissed through his teeth as she sucked on him, fondling his balls in one hand as she threatened to send him over the edge.

"Carol," he moaned out her name.

She sucked him to the tip before lifting her head. "Just relax and enjoy it. You can pay me back later."

Before he could voice his objections, she enveloped him with her mouth once more and he lovingly ran his fingers through her curls. He concentrated on her and only her...her scent, her voice, and the way that she made him feel above all else. He felt complete when he was with her, like the other half of a puzzle that had been missing. She had this way about her that had always calmed him just as much as it had driven him insane with desire.

"Tell me how much you missed me," she demanded.

Daryl swallowed, struggling to find the most accurate words to describe it to her. "Fuckin' ton," he answered.

She snorted and his lips quirked in a smile. "I've missed you too," she breathed as her hand worked him. "And this." She squeezed his cock firmly for emphasis.

"Fuck, Carol. I need you. _Now_." His words were sharp and borderline insane with need. She paused, studying him in the dark and then he heard her pushing her pants down her hips. She crawled back over the middle console and he grabbed her under the ass, lifting her the rest of the way. He was ready for her, his cock already straining for her touch. Guiding her down to him, he let her sink onto him, slowly adjusting to the size of him again.

When she sighed and relaxed, Daryl thrust his hips up into her, making them both moan. He shoved her shirt up, freeing her breasts from her bra. He found her nipples with his thumbs and slowly traced over them in small circles before leaning forward and putting his mouth on them. She began to breathe heavily and one of her hands found the handle on the roof by the door, her fingers gripping it tight as she rode him.

"Don't ever leave me again," he mumbled in a ragged breath.

She shook her head, her arms twining around his neck to hold him close. "Never again sweetheart," she murmured.

He slipped his hand between them and found her clit, rubbing his fingers over the swollen nub. Her breathing increased tenfold, her hips moving in overdrive as she bounced up and down onto him. He felt that moment just before she let go and she threw her head back.

"I love you Daryl," she moaned as her orgasm shook through her.

Daryl felt his own buildup suddenly release and he held her firmly onto him as he pumped himself into her, spilling his seed into her as far as it would go. It seemed to go on forever because it had been so long and he had needed it so desperately, but finally it was over and they both collapsed into the seat together.

He used one hand to stroke her body, her hair, and her face as they let their breathing return to normal. He needed the constant reassurance that she was still there with him for now. His emotions, though better than they had been at one time, were still fragile even now. She slid back into her seat to pull up her pants and her situated his own again, his eyes still alert for danger.

"Feel better?" She asked with a grin.

He snorted and shoved lightly on the shoulder teasingly. "Stop."

Her grin faded, replaced by a more serious expression and she grabbed his hand, threading her fingers with his own. "We're going to find her," she said. Daryl nodded, his own expression grim. He didn't have high hopes, but he hoped for the sake of the others that she was still alive. "I love you," Carol repeated.

His grip on her hand tightened, a simple yet reassuring squeeze of his faith and devotion to her. "I love you too," he murmured. "Now get some sleep, I've got first watch."

Carol yawned, not arguing with him for once and he smiled knowing that he had likely worn her out. She had always been tired right after sex. She adjusted her seat back slightly and curled up against it, one hand resting near her knife just in case. Daryl kept one eye trained outside of the car and one on her, just watching her rest. When her breathing began to deepen and he knew that she was really asleep, he lifted his hand to stroke her face lovingly.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me Carol," he whispered. "Always have an' always will be."

...


End file.
